THE CONCENTRATION OF PCDD/FS IN FLUE GAS AND SOIL COLLECTED IN THE VICINITY OF VARIOUS INCINERATORS, KOREA

PCDD/Fs monitoring was carried out to estimate the contamination level in soil samples taken in the vicinity of the various incinerators throughout South Korea from July 2003 to December 2004. The levels ranged from N.D. to 130.39 pg I-TEQ/g (d.w.) with an average concentration of 11.38 pg I-TEQ/g (d.w.). The level of PCDD/Fs in this study is similar to that of other countries. Overall, the highest mean concentration in the soil was found at 250 m from the stack. In addition, the flue gases were analyzed in order to obtain the congener profiles of the PCDD/Fs emitted from the incinerators. The concentration of I-TEQ in the flue gas ranged from 0.33 to 21.5 ng TEQ/$Sm^3$. These levels were much lower than the concentration stipulated in the Korean emission criterion(40 ng TEQ/$Sm^3$ until 2005). The comparison of the congener patterns using cluster analysis showed that the incinerators and PCP are sources of PCDD/Fs in the soil samples according to the sampling point, but the possibility of unidentified combustion sources and vehicles exists in the case of complex industrial regions.